YC Group (炎洲集團), which is principally engaged in the manufacture of thin films, adhesive tapes and packaging materials, yesterday launched its third lodging facility in Taipei.
The company is serious and upbeat about its expansion into the hospitality industry, encouraged by a continued rise in free independent travelers, YC Group chief executive Peter Lee (李書緯) said.
Unlike its peers that focus on hotel operations, the company owns and manages all its properties, hoping to make a faster return.
“The older the properties, the higher their value will grow given the limited supply of land in Greater Taipei, where all the company’s development projects and hotels are located,” Lee said.
YC Group owns Yem Chio Co (炎洲), Wong Chio Development Co (旺洲開發) and UINN Hotel Co (優逸旅館).
The latest UINN hotel is converted from a 30-year-old commercial building in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林), on which the company spent NT$200 million (US$6.25 million) on design, decoration and other expenses.
The building has 66 guestrooms, a fitness center, a laundry room and a cafe, UINN president Jery Ho (何政霖) said.
While the number of Chinese tourists has declined since May last year, the number of visitors from other nations has been rising, Ho said.
The number of free independent travelers, in particular, continues to rise, giving the company reason for optimism, he added.
Free independent travelers accounted for 75 percent of overall inbound tourists in the first nine months of last year, an increase of 4 percent from the same period of 2015, according to Tourism Bureau statistics.
UINN Shilin is located within a 10-minute walk of Jiantan MRT Station and several tourist attractions, such as Shilin Night Market, the Shilin Presidential Residence, the Taipei Children’s Amusement Park and the Taipei Astronomical Museum, with room rates between NT$3,050 and NT$4,050 per night.
YC Group is planning to build two housing projects in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang (新莊) and Linkou (林口) districts, as well as a five-star hotel in Sinjhuang, Lee said.
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